same time next year?
by Melui-the-Ravenclaw
Summary: At a New Year's Eve masked gala, Kara meets a mysterious brunette at midnight. They click in all the right ways, but fate intervenes to keep them apart. They promise to meet each other again, same time, next year. In January, Kara is assigned to interview the aloof and seemingly intimidating Lena Luthor. Kara finds Lena as intriguing as her New Year's Eve companion, and they soon


"Kara, _stop_ fiddling with your mask! You're going to get glitter in your eyes," Alex whispered furiously out of the side of her mouth, as she handed their invitations to the security at the door, before they were ushered into the building.

Quickly pulling her hand away from her face like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, Kara huffed out a frustrated breath. "I can't help it! Who decided that all the masks needed to be painted on anyway? Why couldn't we have actual masks that won't take four bottles of makeup remover to get off at the end of the night?"

Beside her, Maggie let out a snort that was completely at odds with the elegant dress she was wearing, which she had admitted to Kara she had pulled out of the back her closet at the last minute in an attempt to look feminine. "She's got a point, babe."

"It's required! It was what was written on the invitation," Alex repeated for the fourth time since they'd got ready at Kara's apartment earlier. "The whole point is that you're not meant to be able to take them off and show people who you a-"

"We _know_, Alex!" Kara said, humour lacing her tone. "It's just itchy, is all. I didn't realise all this glitter would tickle like this. I feel like I've got spiderwebs waving all over my face."

They'd all done their own masks, sitting around giggling over glasses of wine and bottles of beer. Alex was sporting a mostly black mask with dark red streaks that matched her hair. Maggie's was bright white with black spirals all over it; Maggie decided that since she couldn't go in her uniform, she'd at least be wearing her police colours. What the spirals were meant to mean, Kara had no idea.

Kara, on the other hand, hadn't gone for muted shades at all. Several drinks into getting ready, Kara had spotted the glitter and by the time Alex realized, it was too late. Kara had swiped the glue across her already yellow-painted face and added enormous glitter sunflowers to both cheeks. By the time Kara realized she looked a bit like a Pikachu with hair, it was far too late. She was committed. She was going to see this through to the end.

Once Alex and Maggie were done laughing, they'd all got dressed; Alex in a deep red off-the-shoulder dress, Maggie in a sleek, long black gown, and Kara? Kara was wearing a pale green sheath dress with deeper green accents. The gala was being hosted by the LunarSolar Foundation, and all proceeds were going towards aiding the child foster system in National City. Alex had been given three tickets from work, although why the FBI needed tickets to a gala like this, none of them knew. But as Kara was new to National City, having only just moved there three weeks ago from Midvale, Alex thought it would be good for her to have a night out.

The truth of it, though, was that Kara was nervous. Galas like this had never really been her thing. She was much more the pizza and potstickers night kind of person, and although getting dressed up and going to a party was fun once in a while, usually she knew more than two people who were attending. Here, she knew nobody other than Alex and Maggie, who were of course, already paired off.

Kara was third-wheeling like a pro, though. Once inside, they marveled at the lavish decorations, and Kara headed off through the crowd towards the bar to pick them up some drinks. When she got there, she noticed that even the bartenders were wearing masks. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about the marks being painted on unsettled her a little bit. As she waited at the bar, Kara looked around. Many people seemed to have gone for simply-coloured undertones, but with elaborate designs on their cheekbones. Some people had gone the whole hog and covered their entire face, not just their cheekbones, eyes, and part of their forehead like most people.

There was even… golly, was that person made up like a clown?! Complete with wig. Kara shivered and turned her attention back to the bartender, who had gone for a solid block of royal blue diagonally across his face. Alex was right, though, Kara admitted grudgingly as she picked up all three drinks. Because of the designs and block colours, it was impossible to tell who was who unless you happened to know the person. The face-shapes were completely distorted by the designs.

This would be uncanny valley central, if these people had all been androids.

(Perhaps they were.

Kara wasn't judging.)

Kara made her way back across the floor towards Alex and Maggie, which was filled with couples dancing. The music was provided by a jazz band for the first part of the evening, but the presence of a large DJ booth let Kara know that there would be some more up-tempo dancing later.

"Hey, she's back with the drinks!" Maggie exclaimed when Kara appeared at her elbow, holding the drinks out. "Cheers!"

"Do you know many people here?" Kara asked Alex in between sips of her strawberry daiquiri.

"No," Alex replied, drawing out the sound as she looked around, "but I know of several people who are here." She pointed with her beer bottle. "I'm pretty sure that huge guy over there is Bruce Wayne, of Wayne Tech in Metropolis. It's hard to miss him. The Luthors will be here somewhere as well…" Alex trailed off as she narrowed her eyes before taking a large sip of her Old Fashioned, letting Kara know exactly what she thought of the Luthors, whoever they were.

"Who are the L-" she began to ask, but almost choked on her words as an elegant woman swept past her wearing a black, sleeveless pencil dress that displayed her collarbones admirably, and towering black heels. Kara didn't need to examine them to know that they were definitely sporting a red underside to them. Straight dark hair trailed across her mostly bare shoulders, contrasting with her pale skin. Her mask was various shades of oranges, yellows, and greens, made to look like leaves were covering her cheekbones and fluttering all the way down to her jawline. And as she glanced up at Kara on her way past, Kara saw that her eyes were sea green.

The woman smiled slightly at her, those eyes quizzical as she noticed Kara looking at her, perhaps wondering if she knew her. And then she was gone, lost to the crowd. Kara was slack-jawed and she knew it.

"Earth to Kara!" Alex laughed, waving a hand in front of Kara's face. "Who was that?"

Kara shook herself visibly, regardless of how silly it no-doubt looked, and shrugged. "I haven't a clue. I don't know anyone in National City besides you two! But she was…" Kara sighed.

Alex gave her a knowing look. "Uh huh," she said. "Come on, stargazer. Let's go dance!"

They formed a triangle on the dancefloor, throwing shapes to each type of music that the band played. Alex having had stronger drinks than either she or Maggie, performed the robot while the band played swing music, causing the other two to hold on to each other for support as they laughed. It crossed Kara's mind then that she was glad to be in National City if it meant that she was going to be able to spend a lot more time with her sister. She'd missed her a lot since Alex had moved to the city three years ago, leaving Kara behind.

When a slow-dance piece of music began, Kara excused herself, leaving Alex and Maggie to dance together without her cramping their style, and headed over to the buffet table. The spread was huge, and Kara made a mental note to get herself invited to as many of these gala things as possible if there was _this much_ delicious-looking food on offer. There were canapés galore, mountains of chocolate covered strawberries, little tarts, who knew how many different types of cake, filled wraps, various types of pasta salad, and a huge variety of sushi. And that was just one end of the table. Kara grabbed a plate.

As she cheerily popped a raspberry tart into her mouth, Kara's eyes moved around the room. As the night wore on, Kara had kept a subtle eye out for the dark-haired woman who'd walked past her earlier, but she hadn't spotted her once. Kara would've almost thought she'd imagined her, if it hadn't been for the elaborate and detailed mask she couldn't have dreamed up. As she was looking around, she saw Alex and Maggie come out of a door, looking a little less than put-together, and Kara smiled to herself. She was glad they were such a happy couple; they suited each other well.

The orchestra switched out for the DJ an hour before midnight, who kicked his set off with the Grease Megamix, to Kara's delight and Alex's clear disgust. The cheese theme continued as the clock ticked closer to midnight, the DJ perhaps knowing that the majority of the audience was toasted by this point, and just wanted to sing along to songs they knew. The three of them enjoyed themselves as they danced along to the Macarena and various other songs, but as the minutes went past, it was obvious that people were pairing up.

Being single didn't usually bother Kara unless there was a specific reason where being single was slightly awkward, like when everyone kissed at midnight. It was only a few minutes to midnight now, and Kara shifted from foot to foot. Alex shot her a little look of sympathy, knowing how Kara felt, but she didn't want her sister to have to focus on her right now, so Kara waved a little and wandered off towards the edge of the dance floor.

She made her way over to a much quieter corner of the room to the stand where the LunarSolar Foundation had its promotional material, and absent-mindedly Kara picked up a leaflet, looking down at the happy faces of the kids in the success stories that they had. She herself had been adopted by the Danvers at age 13 after the deaths of her own parents, and she hoped that other kids would be as lucky either by fostering or adoption.

Suddenly, the DJ turned on his microphone and loudly declared that the countdown to midnight would start in less than a minute, and a huge cheer made its way around the room. Kara spotted Alex and Maggie, already liplocked, and shook her head. Always in a rush. She leaned sideways against the wall.

"You're looking a little lonesome over here," a voice said behind her, and Kara jumped, spinning around to see… _her_. Thanks to her heels, they were almost exactly the same height.

Clutching a hand to her chest, Kara let out a breathy giggle. "Hi," she replied, a smile spreading across her face. The woman looked back at her, the same quizzical look in her eyes as she had earlier, coupled with an inquisitive frown; she looked like she was trying to figure her out. Kara wondered what it was that she found so interesting, before the woman reached up and touched the glitter sunflower on her right cheek. Kara stilled under her touch.

"I like your flowers," the brunette said, in a mellifluous voice that sounded accented. Irish, perhaps?

"Thank you! I did them myself," she burst out, and then squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment.

"Well, you did a great job," she said, laughter colouring her voice beautifully. Yeah, definitely Irish, Kara decided.

"I love your leaves," Kara said, slowly looking over them once more before her blue eyes landed on the green eyes gazing at her. Everything she could see about this woman was exquisite, Kara realized. Standing this close to each other, she could look at her a little more blatantly. Her eyes were like green nebulae, and the thought that she could look at them for hours and still see something new rushed through Kara's distinctly non-sober mind. Her dark hair was glossy, and she felt her hands itch to touch it, to learn what the strands would feel like between her searching fingers. Her voice was low and stirring, and the collarbones, _god_, had Phidias carved her out of marble?

The brunette flushed a little under Kara's obvious scrutiny and smiled, dimples making themselves known on her cheeks. Kara felt her stomach swoop. "I-"

"_Ten! Nine! Eight!"_ the DJ announced, interrupting them.

Green eyes focused on her, almost urgently, Kara thought. "Are you alone?"

"Yes," Kara replied, just as quickly.

"Single?"

"Yes."

"_Five! Four!"_

"Do you want t-"

"Please," Kara burst out.

"_Two!"_

And with another wide smile, the brunette hooked her arm around Kara's waist, bringing herself flush against Kara's body, and without further ado, closed the small distance between them and brushed her lips against Kara's.

The touch was electric, and much softer than Kara was expecting given the hurried nature of their agreement. Her lips were warm and soft, and Kara pushed back against them, sliding one hand up the stranger's neck and into her hair, pulling her impossibly closer, causing the other woman to groan slightly into her mouth. Kara heard the DJ shouting _happy new year!_ somewhere in the room, fireworks going off outside, and people cheering, but Kara couldn't care less what year it was right now.

Their kiss moved from being rather chaste to something else very quickly as Kara felt heat shoot all around her body. There was a gentle hand on the side of her shoulder, moving to her neck, and the arm around her waist tightened. There was nothing shy about the way the brunette was kissing her now. Kara felt the swipe of a tongue along her bottom lip, and she gladly let the woman in. At the first touch of their tongues, Kara fisted the dark hair tightly between her fingers. She tasted like something citrus, sharp but sweet at the same time, and Kara couldn't get enough.

Neither, it seemed, could the other woman, who subtly pressed her against the wall and tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth, before diving back in, all hot breath and tongue. Kara almost squeaked in surprise and pleasure, and it felt like all the blood in her body shot south. This wasn't the kind of kiss that two people shared when they didn't know each other. This kiss belonged in the bedroom, between lovers. Kara groaned. And then, someone nearby wolf-whistled at them, and dimly the sounds of the party around them became louder. Kara gasped as the woman pulled back, their lips separating audibly.

Dumbly, they stared at each other, their overheated bodies still touching, their eyes searching. Their faces were close enough that Kara could feel the gentle breaths of the brunette against her skin. Surprise was written all over the brunette's face, surprise and shock that what should've been a quick kiss between two people who didn't know each other had turned into… _that_.

Kara could feel the heat from a pale hand on her arm, a hand that squeezed gently as green eyes looked into hers, a silent, pleading question in them that Kara wasn't sure she knew the answer to, any more than her companion did. There was a piece of golden glitter in one of the painted leaves on her face, and her dark lipstick was smudged.

"So, we…" the brunette began.

"We did. Um, we definitely- we definitely did. That. Kissed like that, I mean. Um." Smooth, Kara. Smooth.

"That wasn't quite what I expected," the stranger replied. Were they strangers, now? "In a good way, though. That was really… more than a first kiss. That was something else. I don't think that someone has ever kissed me like that before." She punctuated her sentence with a smile, and Kara sighed in relief.

"This might sound awful, but do you… do you come here often?" Kara mentally slapped herself as the brunette raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, do you come to this New Year's galas every year?"

"I do," came the low reply. "I'm here every year." Kara felt a hand slide down her arm until gentle fingertips ran across the back of her hand, and tangled with hers.

"Meet me here, same place, same time, next New Year's Eve?" Kara teased. Belatedly, Kara realized that both of her arms was still wrapped around the woman's waist. She had no desire to move though, so she didn't. Instead, she gently squeezed and brought their clasped hands up, swaying them gently from side to side, bringing another smile to a pale face. She leaned her head forward until their foreheads touched.

"I think I… want to know you," Kara whispered. "I want to get to know you, before the next gala. Can I do that?"

"I'd like that, too," her companion murmured, her voice earnest.

"What's your name?"

For the first time, the brunette hesitated. "You might not want to get to know me, once you know my name. Once you know who I am," she said, sadness tinging her tone, before she cleared her throat. "But I guess that's… up to you. Once you know it."

"Right now, I can't think of anything I want to do more than to learn the name of the woman who just kissed me senseless."

At that, Kara was treated to a deep, genuine laugh. One that sent waves of pleasure through her body and made the hair on her arms stand up.

"Okay," she said, the hesitancy in her voice fading. "I'm L-"

"_There _you are!" a loud voice interjected, and Alex appeared over the brunette's shoulder. This was the worst possible timing. And Alex was drunk, Kara could tell. Beside her, Maggie was almost struggling to hold her girlfriend upright. Reluctantly, she released the woman she held in her arms, and grasped Alex's shoulder.

"A-"

"Hi," Maggie said bluntly to the brunette, before looking back at Kara. "Can you help me get her to the cab outside? I think she's about to pass out. Or die, I'm not sure. Either way, I can't hold her weight by myself anymore."

Kara shot her companion an apologetic look, one that she hoped conveyed just how annoyed she was at this interruption and how much she regretted that she would, in fact, have to leave for a moment. Thankfully, the brunette looked resigned to the situation, and stepped back. Stepped away from Kara.

"Same place, same time, next New Year's Eve?" she asked, hope lacing her low voice.

"Definitely. I'll definitely be here. And I'll be back in a few minutes. I'll come and find you," Kara said, smiling as widely as the glitter on her face allowed. "Oh, and my name's-"

"Kaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggghhhhh," Alex moaned, and made a sound as if she were about to be sick. Everyone except Maggie jumped backwards, just in case, although the look on her face clearly said that she wanted to. The brunette backed away a little bit further, and seemingly didn't want to try to share her name while they had company, because she didn't try to. Kara wondered what it was, if it was one she wanted to keep private in front of strangers. "I'll get you a glass of water for her," she said, instead. "I'll see you here when you come back?" she finished, giving her another hopeful smile, and holding up a hand to indicate where they were standing.

"I'll be here," Kara replied, and the brunette nodded, before turning around and heading back into the crowd towards the bar.

Maggie watched her go, and then turned to Kara. "Damn, Danvers," she said, letting out a low whistle. "You two put on quite the display over here when midnight came and went!"

"Oh, shut up," Kara huffed good-naturedly. "I haven't got her name yet," she added in a slightly smaller voice.

"You'll get it once you've helped me get her to the cab," Maggie stated, as if it was a fact. "Now, help me get this idiot to the cab before she pukes all over my only good pair of shoes."

Together, they manhandled Alex towards the exit. Kara had lost sight of her mystery brunette, but Alex's predicament was a little more urgent. She was still just about able to walk, but she couldn't seem to hold her weight up properly.

"How much had she had to drink?" Kara grunted heavily, as they shuffled town the steps outside the venue towards the cab, which was waiting at the bottom. Alex wasn't exactly large, but she was almost a dead weight right now.

"I didn't think she'd had that much. I don't think she ate, though."

"Oh, _great_-"

"I'm not her mother-"

"Ohhh shurrrup both of you," Alex mumbled in a wobbly voice. "Sssmy life."

Kara and Maggie exchanged an eye roll over Alex's shoulders. The cab driver looked less than impressed by the three of them and silently handed them a plastic bag. "If she pukes in the cab, it's a $50 fine."

"Fine, whatever," Maggie snapped, grabbing the sick bag and passing it to Kara. "Stay here with her for a minute-"

"But-" Kara protested, feeling panic well up inside her.

"I have to go get our bags from the person I left them with when your sister decided that she needed to be 60% whisky instead of water," Maggie huffed, as she dumped Alex unceremoniously in the back seat.

"If you see-"

"Yeah yeah," Maggie threw over her shoulder, as she stalked back up the steps.

Fifteen minutes later, Alex thankfully still hadn't thrown up, deciding instead that sleeping open-mouthed against the window was a much better idea. Maggie came back down towards the cab, holding hers and Alex's bags, plus a bottle of water.

"Here," she said, thrusting the water into Kara's hands as she folded herself into the back seat with them both. "How is she?"

"Snoring."

"Thank goodness for small mercies."

"Tell me about it," Kara said. The silence stretched as the cab pulled into traffic. "Did you see her?"

"Oh shit, sorry Kara. I didn't see her, but I wasn't really looking."

Kara's heart sank. She thought about the brunette, standing where they'd been together and waiting for her, holding a glass of water for nobody, and felt like a huge chance had passed her by.


End file.
